Containers are used for containing and storing a wide variety of products. In most cases, such containers are manufactured at a site different from the site where the container is actually filled with the product. In many circumstances, the containers are manufactured, boxed, sold and delivered to a distinct purchaser which fills the containers. To facilitate the packaging and transport of the finished containers, such containers are often nested within one another. At the same time, the containers must be arranged and counted for invoicing and for inventory management. Although the process of nesting and counting such containers has been automated with a variety of different apparatuses, such known apparatuses are prone to undesirable stoppages and provide inaccurate and unreliable container counts.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a machine or apparatus that accurately and precisely nests and counts containers in a continuous and efficient manner.